Newspaper headlines: Hunt's business tax cuts and 'oil giants cash in'

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By BBC News
Staff
PA Media

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is reportedly set to announce a range of measures intended to encourage older people back into the workforce

Plans by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to entice people over 50 back into the workplace lead several of Saturday's papers.

The Daily Telegraph says Hunt is considering financial incentives such as an increase in the current £1m lifetime allowance on tax-free pension savings.

Speaking to the Times, he suggests that life for those who've given up work in their 50s "doesn't just have to be about going to the golf course", adding that the country needs them to play a "very important part" in the UK's future growth.

According to the Daily Mirror, five of the world's biggest oil giants are expected to announce profits of around £160m for the last year - double last year's total and equivalent to more than £5,000 a second. The paper calls the figure a "scandal" when many families are struggling to pay their energy bills, but adds that it could be a high point, with wholesale gas prices having fallen sharply in recent months and oil prices well below their previous peaks.

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The BBC is considering dropping the daily racing tips from Radio 4's Today programme, according to the Mail

An investigation by the Guardian has found that the Chinese state owns a huge network of property in the UK via offshore companies. Analysis of a new government register shows that Beijing's investment corporation has more than 250 properties here, including distribution centres that are "key to the flow of food and goods" in different parts of the country. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith says he wants a "strategic audit" of Chinese finance in Britain.

And the Daily Mail claims the BBC is considering dropping the daily racing tips from the Today programme on Radio 4. It says executives held talks earlier this month about scrapping the feature, as some believe it's outdated and encourages gambling, but adds that no final decision has yet been made. The BBC's former racing correspondent, Cornelius Lysaght, describes the plan as "another kick in the teeth for horse racing" when the corporation has already ceased televising the sport.